AR-15 and Mini-14 Accuracy comparison....

[ECVMatt]

I know this has been going on for quite some time, so today I took booth my Eagle Arms ER-15A2 and my Mini-14 580 series to the range today to hash it out for myself. They are as similar as my arsenal allows. The A2 is just a regular off the shelf model with a standard bbl and sights. The Mini is straight out of the box as well.

I started shooting at 25 yards to make use they were zeroed. The AR won hands down at that distance, putting all rounds into a single hole. The Mini did OK with putting all rounds into a nice less than 1/2 inch group.

I started to get a sinking feeling at this point about the 100 yard line. I thought the AR was going to smoke the Mini, however a strange thing happened.

At 100 yards the Mini beat the AR hands down. I will post the pictures later tonight, but the Mini had a group of about 5 inches. The AR shot over 7 inches. Is this the fault of either rifle? Heck no! I just suck with irons shooting at bulleyes. I was horrified by my lack of skill. I just don't have the eyes for this type of shooting. I did shoot some broken clays on the berm and hit every one with both guns. Maybe I just get freaked out by the bull.

At 200 yards the AR won hands down. I hit a steel pig 40 out of 40 with the AR. With the Mini I hit it about 75 percent of the time. The pig looks about 8-10" tall. The smaller sight on the AR really helped at distance.

Just for fun I threw a scope on the Mini and shot at the steel. I hit the pig every time at 200 and a sheep 300 yards with the Mini.

So which gun is more accurate? I would say the user has more control over this than the rifle. Both guns were more accurate than me at 100 yards. I simply couldn't get a good sight picture. I tend to have more fun with the Mini, because it feels like a rifle to me. The springy sound of the AR get old after awhile, but it was a blast hammering those pigs.

Thank god we live in a country where we can have choices. Which one would I choose? Both of course. Neither is going anywhere. They are both too much fun.

I am glad I did this today. It really ended any debate in my head about which is better, accuracy and so forth.

Really what it boils down to is I need to practice more.

And that is not a bad thing.

Have a good one,

Matt

 

[Grease Monkey]

Either one will work just fine. Both have pros and cons.

For the oft mentioned "social situation", "minute of man" is probably all you'll have time for. The AR is very accurate, but ask a Vietnam vet or a Afghan vet how many MOA his M-16 or M-4 shot, and he'll probably say he didn't know or care.

 

[frankiestoys]

Thanks for the post Matt,
glad to see some guys that own both shooting both. I think there both fine rifles, my 580 mini is a sweet little rifle, fun to shoot and never a problem.
Im in the market for an AR as we speak , every collection should have one. I think i might get one in a .308 cal with a bull barrel and maybe a full stock ,i kinda like the classic look myself. Look forward to seeing your targets.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Nice report, thanks..... but at my range, you cannot shoot the IMHSA targets with centerfire rifles; handgun, .22, and BP only. Don't shoot the pig! (J/K; maybe you're allowed to there).